Automatic facsimile message scanning system



June 22, 1948. c. N. GILLESPIE 2,443,953

AUTOMATIC FACSIMILE MESSAGE SCANNING SYSTEM Filed April 24, 1943 5Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. CHARMS N. GILL ESP/E ATTORNEY J1me i948- c.N. GILLESPIE AUTOMATIC FACSIMILE MESSAGE SCANNING SYSTEM Filed April 24,1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. CHARL 8 IV. 6/1. LESP/E A TTORNE'Y 'June22, 1948. c. N. GILLESPIE AUTOMATIC FACSIMILE MESSAGE SCANNING SYSTEM-Filed April 24, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. CHARLES /v. G/LLESP/E ATTOR/VEY I June 22, 1948. v c. N. GlLLESPlE AUTOMATIC FACSIMILE MESSAGESCANNINGiSYSTEM Filed April 24, 1943 s Sheets-Sheet 4 INVIENTOR. CHA/PLES N. GILLESP/E BY 7%? A TTOR/VE'Y Patented June 22, 1948AUroMATIorAcsninL MESSAGE SCANNING SYSTEM Charles N. Gillespie,Brooklyn, Y.) assignor to Radio corporation ofgAmerica, a corporation 7of Delaware Application'Aprilz i, 19 i3. Serial no. 434,383 1 10 Claims.

The present invention relates to facsimile transmitting and receivingequipment, and more particularly to automaticapparatus' for feeding,scanning anddischargingsubject or record sheet in a novel manner. l I

The term sheets is used" to design'ateeither message sheets providedWith subject matter for transmission, or recording blanks" of any kind.The term scanner will be'used to' designate" a device for generatingintelligence signals 'or a similar or different device provided withsuitable instrumentalities for marking-asurf'a'ce' in accord ance withreceived signals,

In facsimile scanners of the prior" art arranged to scan a seriesof'subjects for-transmission or reception, it is necessary to employ acontinuous web having the different messages inscribed thereon fortransmission", or a strip or" web, of recording paper or him; theseWebs'bein'g fed; con tinuousl over the active portion of the scanner ata constant 'rate of speed; or in s'oin'e' instances at a speed whichishi'gher than'at'scanningspeed between the pieces of scanned subjectmatter whether the scanning operation is performed'i'fbr the purpose oftransmitting or recording picture signals." Automatic operationofscanners'adapted to receive and scan discrete ieces" of. subjectmatter; such as message sheets" or separated recording blanks; has beenpossible" only by securing the separate sheets or blanks" iii somemanner to a web orbelt whicnismovedfintiermittently or" continuously;Where the message sheets orblan'ks move with theb'elt through thescanning zone, it is'nec'e'ssary todeta'chf the'ni'ih dividuallyfrom thebelt after the: completionfof a scanning operation. Where the sheets orblanks are receive'd from" a" web. orfbe1t"aiid' held by a movable or"stationary part of the" scanner during'scanning, it is'also necessary.to remove the sheets or blanks by performing a separate operation;.

Moreovernin prior art attempts tosavetransmission time of the: recordinchannelr whichis used, for facsimile communication, it hasbeen necessaryto change-the speed .of-awmovable element' of the scanner or tointerrupt the scanning operation atra= time depending on :thera're'a lof ithe sheet to -be: scanned: for-transmission.v If therecording:scannerrworkingdn aconjun'ctiomwith a transmitter employsseparate blanks'ythe recording-zoneration.iatfjthezreceiver must bterr'upted concurrentlymith the interniptioh :oitl fscanning-loperationnatitheotransniitteri 'rheseprier artrearrangements-I reviewedi bri'e fly above req uir 'e (c1. vs-cmcomplicated electrical or mechanical control and timing systems. H;

Feeding and scanning separate sheets'in a novel manner, which eliminatesthe necessity for Webs and belts serving as holders or conveyors and,also, eliminates the necessity for control and timing systems, is animportant object of the present invention.

In accordance with the present invention it is unnecessary to usemessage sheets or record blanks having anything on or in the blanks tocontrol operation of the scanner. The sheets may be of the sizedesirable for business or other reasons, but the area presented to thescanner is controlled in a novel manner. The manner of obtaining thiscontrol is also an important object of the invention.

In accordance with the invention the subject or record sheets are fed tothe scanner in an overlapped manner, the degree of overlap beingpredetermined for a seriesofsheets or from sheet to sheet, if desired,by employing suitable signals from the transmitter. Where the recorderin a facsimile sistem" is to beoperated in a like manner, a simpleauxiliary signal may be sent from the transmitter to the receiver toindicate the amount of overlap which is to be obtained in the recorder.Subject and record sheets may be of different sizes ifdesired, the novelsheet ieeding arrangement for the accompanying scanner being set tocompensate for the difference in size of sheet employedat'thetransmitterand recorder.

Also in accordance with the invention, a continuous flow of overlappedsubject or record sheets is maintained which forms in effect amoving'curtain"which maybe employed to cover the activeportion-of thescanner. When so employed, light is 'kept out of the scanner, whichpermitstheexpo's'ed' portion of the scanner to be made of glassor anycthertransparent substance without interference with the scanningprocess by external light. In are'cording scanner the continuousfio'w ofblanks may serve as ameans for'excluding external light'so thatphotographic recording-methods may be employed ifthe' blanks aresufificiently opaque.

A' iurther object ofthe invention is to provide a novel sheet-feedingarrangement, the operation of which may be correlatedwith respect to theoperation of anassociated facsimile scanner.

Still another object-ofthe invention is to pro vide a novel methodof'handling message sheets and recording blanks so as to provide a fastand efictive record communication serviceavailable to patrons oftheservice.

Otherand more specific objects of the invention will become apparent andsuggest themselves to those skilled in the art to which the invention isdirected upon reading the following specification and claims inconnection with the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a scanner equipped" with. an automaticsheet feeding arrangement in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of a detail of the machine of Fig. 1;:

Fig. 3' is a sectional elevation taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;: I

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modification of Fig. I i

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic showing of a portion of a further modification.of the machine of Fig.

1 illustrating essential features ofa timed sheet feeding arrangement; j

Fig. 6 is a continuation of Fig. 5 and is a diagrammatic. showing. ofthe scanning portion of the machine;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional elevation takenon line 1-4 ofFig. 6;

Fig. 8 shows message sheets of this invention and the manner ofsupplying them to the scanner;

Fig. 9 shows message sheets having subject matter occupyingsubstantially the entire message bearing area of the sheet;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modification of thismachine of Figs. '1 and 6 and Fig. 11 is a fragmentary sectionalelevation taken on line of Fig. 10.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, reference character is applied tothe housing of the facsimile machine, including a scanner shown asatransmitting scanner, but which may be operated as a recorder withcertain changes in its mechanism, as is well known in the prior art. Thescanner H is shown by way of example as being a radial optical type inwhich a central shaft l4 supports and drives a pair of oppositelydisposed optical system tubes l6 and ll, which cooperate alternatelywith either a slot or transparent portion I6 of a sheet supportingelement 2|. In the illustrative embodiment, the sheet supporting element2| is in the form of a curved top for the housing iii. If desired, theentire sheet supporting element 2| may be of transparent material suchas glass or a transparent plastic. Sheet supporting element 2|, thesurface upon which the sheets are toslide, is smooth and preferablypolished. Photographic recording may be obtained by substituting asource of message signal modulated light beam influencing alightsensitive film, or electro-chemical recording may be obtained inaccordance with any one of the well known systems of the wet or dryrecording type by mounting a stylus or several styluses upon the shaftM. A scanner of the general type shown by Fig. 1 is disclosed in PatentNo. 1,792,264, issued February 10, 1931, to E. F. W. Alexanderson. Theoutput connection to the scanner H is indicated at 22 and it may beconnected to any suitable communication channel, such as the illustratedradio transmitter 23 by way of an amplifier and some form of codv ingand keying equipment 24 which maybe, for

26 which may have a scanner similar to the scanner modified as suggestedby employing recording styluses or light modulation in the case ofphotographic recording. The general recorder 26 may, if desired, be inother respects similar to that shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings includingthe record sheet feeding arrangement or it may be of any other desiredtype. While a radio communication link is indicated between thetransmitter 23 and the receiver 25, it will be understood any type ofcommunication channel such as a land line between a local message col--lecting' point and a central office may be em propelled overthe surface2| by an endless belt 28, the linear speed of which is correlated withthe speed of rotation of the scanner H in the usual manner so that lightfrom the tubes I6 and I! of the optical systems traverses the sheet inclosely spaced lines.

A suggested means of obtaining the correlated operation of the belt 28with the shaft l4 may comprise a motor 3| of either the synchronous orspeed controlled type, which drives the shaft I4 through a gear andpinion combination 33. The motor 3| also drives a shaft 36, which issupported in suitable bearings 37 housed in brackets 38 secured to theside 21 of the casing I53. Pulley shafts 4| and 42 are driven by wormand worm wheel combinations 44 and 46 respectively. The shafts 4| and 42may be rotatably carried by bearings housed in bearing brackets 49 and5|. It will be understood that these brackets 49 and 5| are duplicatedon the side of the machine opposite the side 21. A pulley 52 is mountedon the shaft 4|, and a corresponding pulley 53 is mounted on the shaft42. Similar pulleys 54 and 55 (Fig. 2) are provided adjacent to theopposite edge of the belt 28 and are supported and driven by shafts 56and 51 corresponding to the shafts 4| and 42.

Fig. 2 of the drawings shows the arrangement for supporting and drivingthe pulleys between the end pulleys 52 and 54 and. the end pulleys 53and 55. Transverse members 58 are secured at each end 59 to the sidewalls of the casing ID. A supporting arm 6| extends longitudinally ofthe casing H) and provides a bearing support for the shaft 4|. A similarsupporting arm 62 provides a bearing support for a shaft 63 upon whichis secured a pulley 64. The shaft 56 for the pulley 54 is journalled ina third shaft supporting arm 61. The supporting arms are duplicated toprovide bearing supports for the shafts 42, 51 and a shaft68 for apulley 69. The-shaft 63, displaced radially from the shafts 4| and 56,is connected to these shafts through universal joint connections 69 andH and intermediate drive shafts I2 and 13. It will be noted that theuniversal joint connections 69 as well as the connections H areangularly displaced with respect to each other so that the shafts turnwith substantially uniform angular velocity. The pulley 69, displacedradially from the shafts 42 and 51 in a manner similar to thedisplacement of the pulley 64, prevents lateral shifting of the belt 28and also maintains it in close contact with surface 2| of the housingl0.

Message sheets or recording blanks assembled in a pile are placed in abox 82, which is rectangular in outline and of dimensions suitable toprevent material displacement of the sheets in.

through slots .86 in the bottom of the box 82. I

The peripheral surfaces of the rollers are provi dediwithsuitablefriction material. The rollers B'Lmay be, and are preferably carried by.u-ni- .versal joint connected sh'afts or a fiexibleshaft iournalled ina support (not shown) movable withrespect to the bottom of the boxsothat the amount which the rollers project through the slots 86 may beadjusted. .Three of the rollers 18? are shown. illustratively, but itwill be understood that .thisnumber may be varied withinsthe scopeof theinvention.

. "'Ihebox B2 may,if desired, comprise four upstanding walls, the bottombeing formed by the surface L2l...or .an'extension thereof, or it may bea separate detachable receptacle which may be preloaded withsheets, Apluralityof boxes may beprovi'dedfor preloading.

A weight 88 is shown as resting on the pile of sheets .to keep thebottom sheet of the pile in frictional engagement with the rollers 84..As a matter of convenience, the weight 88 may be; pivotally connectedto links 9|, which are in-turn pivotedto a hand lever 92 which isswingably mountedon a wall of the box 82.

.The .drivingconnections i, which imparts movement in unison to all ofthe rollers 84, for example, in the same manner as the pulleys52,64,.and '54, are driven, is connected as shownby way of example in Fig.l to a Worm and worm wh'eel combination .96. As a possible alternativethe shaft 94 may be'connected through a suitable speed-reducing gearingto the scanner drive shaft In operation of the machine of Figs, 1 to-3as a transmitter, for example, a plurality of previously inscribedstacked message sheets are placed in the box 82 andwhen the machine isset in operation the bottom sheet will be projected through. the slot83" until it is gripped between the belt 28 and the top 2t of the casingf0. After the first sheet has been withdrawn sulliciently to permit therollers 84 to contact the next sheet, the next sheet in turn willbeprojected between thetop 2f of thecasinglll and thebelt2'8. The sheetscan be fed to the belt in overlapped relationship so that the portion ofthe following sheet, which is inscribed with a message, will cover upprinted headings of the preceding. sheet, thus preventing timebeingwasted by scanning the heading. The amount of overlap is controlled inthe machine of Fig. 1 by the position of the rollers 84 with respect tothe .slot 813' and the adjacent bight of the belts-28.

'The motor 3'! as shown is provided with a speed 'control 98 so that thespeed of scanning may be increased if desired. An arrangement which ispossible, inasmuch asth'e drive .for'the belt-'28, the drive for theshaft l4 and the rollers 8 are all correlated. The suggestedspeed control for the motor 31 is useful only where-synchronism of thetransmitter and recorder is maintained iii-some other manner than thefrequency or. the main motor supply. For examp1e, a-.small A. C;-generator may be mounted on theshait .36 at the transmitter to generatesynchronizing voltages.

Thesheets are ejected in succession from the end of the machine aftertheyhave been completely scanned without any need for special handlingor conveying devices.

Operation of the machine has a recorder proceeds in the manner alreadydescribed, except that the sheets placed in the box-82 are messageblanks of somesuitable type which will be operated upon by Styluses, orother marking devices, carried by the shaft 14. These blanks may also beprovided with printed headings corresponding with the headings on themessagesheets at the transmitter. If the headings on both the messagesheets at the transmitter and the message blanks at the recorder are ofthe same extent, the rollers 84 in the transmitter and recorder will belocated in the same relative position with respect to the slot 83 andtheactive bight ofthebeltzt.

As pointed out above, if opaque blanks are used having a light sensitivesurface, these blanks may be assembled in a pile in a closed box 82 andfed over the surface 2i of the housing Hl with their ends overlappedwhich will exclude light from the interior of the housing Iilso that theblanks will be exposed only to intelligence modulated light emitted froma scanner carried by the shaft 14. With this arrangement it will benecessary to process the blanks and this may beaccomplished by providingan extension of the machine casing top 2! having a suitable cover underwhich the blanks may be carried by an arrangement similar to the rollers84. Photographic processing may be carried out under this cover or theblanks may be passed from under the cover to .a light tight processingbox.

.If the blanks are of a type which must be conditioned in some manner,as by moistening before therecordingstep is performed, this ispreferably done after the blanks emerge from the slot 83 and before theyare seized' by the belt 28. The reason for this procedure being that theblanks may be. more easily handled ii -they are substantially moisturefree or contain the normal amount of moisture present in all paperproducts under more or less normal atmospheric conditions.

Fig. 4 of the drawings shows a modification of themachine of Fig. l inwhich the messagesheets or blanks lie fiat in-a box or receptacle I02,which corresponds to the box '82 shown in Fig. 1. The scanning equipment(not shown) may be housed in the. casing lfitof the machine which isprovided with av curved top I96 similar to'the'top "2| of the casingIll. Scanning is accomplished by passing message blanks or recordsheetsover a slot H31. in the top I06. The sheetsarewpropelled by aroller l08-and rollers Hi9 and ltD. These rollers. are driven bymechanism (not shown) which may, for example, be similar to thedrive forthe pulleys of Fig. l atequal peripheral speeds at the point of contactwith the'sheets'or blanks.

The sheetscr blanks, piled inthe box PM, are projected one at a timethrough aslot H2 by means of rollers 1 M which project upwardly throughslots 14 6 inthe-bottom of the box-H12 A hood member 44.8 serves tocurve each sheet tolie-closel-y to the top wit-of the casing so that itvattains. the proper curved configuratiolras it passes over the scanning.slot 1! 01. Aseri'es of rollers l.-I9,.twoinnumber in the-illustrativeexample of. Figs 4, .may be, and preferably. are, drivenalong with theroller i013 and tlie' rol lers I09 and H so that their peripheral speedatthe point of contact with a sheet or blank is the same.

As the sheets are projected one at a time from the box I02 they arereceived and guided by the rollers H9 and passed under the hood H8. Thesheet or blank is then passed over the scanning slot I01 and into areceptacle I22.

Figs. 5 to 7 of the drawings show a modification of the invention inwhich a different type of feed device is used for introducing sheets oneat a time to the scanner. An arrangement, byway of example, is alsodisclosed whereby the degree of overlap may be adjusted at will. Thegeneral organization of the illustrative example is somewhat the same asthat shown in Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings for'the sake of ease ofillustration and description. However, it will be understood thatequipment embodying the invention may be made in numerous forms, forexample, the scanner may be of the flat bed type with a light tube orstylus traversing the sheet from side to side, or with a scanner of thehelical type cooperating with the sheet.

The scanner equipment shown schematically on Fig. 6 of the drawings isindicated generally by reference character I26 and comprises opticalscanning tubes I28 cooperating with a slot I3I in the cover I32 of thescanner. A plurality of belts I33, I34, I35 and I36 passing over forwardpulleys I31 and rear pulleys I33, which pulleys may be supported anddriven in the manner described in connection with Fig. 1 of thedrawings, serves to propel message sheets or blanks over the curved topI32. A fifth belt, corresponding to the belt I33, located on theopposite side of top I32, is not visible on Fig. 6. The belt I35 is inthe middle of the top I32. W'hile five belts have been indicated, asingle belt suchas the belt 28 of Fig. 1 may be provided, however, suchan arrangement is not preferred. A suflicient number of belts preferablyis provided, as shown in Fig. 10 and 11 briefly described hereinafter,so

that the top I32 is substantiall completely covered. The effectivenessof the sheet propelling belts may be enhanced by providing an additionalbelt'I 40 which contacts the underside of a message sheet or blankthrough a slot provided for this purpose in the top I32. A plurality ofbelts I48 may be provided. The belts I33 to I36 and the belt or beltsI40, if they are employed, may be driven in the manner shown by way ofexample in Fig. 1 of the drawings, or by flexible shafts except that thepulleys will be axially aligned.

The sheet feeding arrangement, schematically shown in Fig. 5 of thedrawings, comprises a box or basket I43 for holding a pile of messagesheets or recording blanks, depending on whether the machine is to beused as a transmitter or a recorder. An opening I44 extending laterallyof the box I43 near its end adjacent the scanner I26 provides forwithdrawal of the blanks one at a time from the box by a vacuum operatedpick-up bar I46 which may be constructed of a hollow rectangular barwith a perforated top I41 as shown. A flexible conduit I48 connects theinterior of the device I46 with a vacuum pump I48 oran air exhaustedreservoir by way of a valve I56, the

function of which will be later described.

The bar I46 is arranged to move downwardly as shown by the dotted arrowI5I- and forwardly as shown by the dotted arrow I52, which movementsmay, for example, be accomplished by the system of levers and cams shownon the drawings. The bar I46 is mounted on the end of an arm I53 whichnormally pivots around a fixed axis I54 and is held in the positionshown by a tension spring I55. The arm I53 is free to move horizontallyagainst the retractile force of the spring I55 by meansof a slot I56. Alever I5! is hinged to the arm I53 and also to a lever I58 by pivot pinsI6I and I62 and isfree to rotate about these pins in the plane of thedrawing. The lever I58 is swingably journaled on a fixed axis I64. Aseries of cams I66, I67 and I68 are mounted on the same shaft or aremade to move in correct angular relationship by an equivalent means. Theangular relationships or phase positions of these cams are shown by Fig.5. Cam I66 moves the lever I58 downwardly as shown on the drawing by acam follower I'II against the retractile force of a tension spring I12,one end of which is fixed and the other end f which is connected to theend of the bar I56, thus moving the vacuum bar I46 downwardly by thedesired amount indicated by the dotted arrow I5I referred to above.While the lever I58 is held in its dotted line position by the cam I66,the cam I61 operates the arm I51 through the agency of a reciprocalfollower I'I3 to the right as shown on the drawing, thus moving the bar153 and the vacuum bar I46 to the left against the retractile force ofthe spring I55. The dotted arrow I52 indicates substantially thedirection and amount of this movement. When the'cam I61 has operated thevacuum bar I46 to the limit of its horizontal movement, the cam I68closes the valve I50 and opens a passage I74 communicating with theatmosphere, allowing air to fill the flexible conduit I48 between thevacuum bar I46 and the valve I50, thus releasing a message blank orsheet previously picked up by the vacuum bar in a manner to be describedin connection with a description of the operation of the equipment.Following release of the message blank or sheet, the cam I61 permits thevacuum bar I46 to be moved to the right by the tension spring I55. Aftercompletion of this motion, the cam I66 permits bar I46 to be movedupwardly by spring I12. Then the cam I68 again places the conduit I48 incommunication with the vacuum pum I49, and the vacuum bar I46 is thenready to execute another sheet extracting cycle.

A message sheet released by the vacuum bar I46 is seized between a pairof rollers I11 and I18 (Figs. 5 and 6). Movement of the free end of thesheet or blank between the rollers Ill and I78 is facilitated by a pairof curved guide plates I 8| and I82 which converge so as to provide anarrow opening adjacent the line of contact of the rollers Ill and I18.Contacting belts I83 and I84 pass over the rollers I11 and I18respectively and also over pulleys I86 and I88. The point of emergenceof an advancing sheet from between the belts I83 and I84 coincides withthe top I32 of the scanner I26. The line of contact between the rollersIT! and I82 and the line of contact between the belts I83 and I84 at thepulleys I 86 and I68 preferably lie in the plane of the bottom run ofthe belt I35 between pulleys I31 and I38. The belt I35 is locatedsubstantially in the center of the scanner top. The advancingend of themessage blank curves by its own weight so that it will be receivedbetween the top I32 of the scanner and the belts I33 to I36. Curvedsheet guides I 9| and I82 insure this curvature of the end of advancingsheet. Another guide I93, which is substantially a continuation of thetop I32, is mounted beneath the guides I9I and I 92. The advancing sheetpasses between the guides I9I and I92, and the guide I93.

Two successive message blanks or sheets I94 and I99. are shown in Fig.as havingbeen fed to the sheet receiving rollers I TI and I18. Figs. 8and 9 of the drawings also illustrate therelative position of twosuccessive sheets in the relative position in which they pass throughthe scanner and will be referred to more in detail hereinafter inconnection with the description of the operation :of the automaticmessage feed and scanner. The amount of overlap of successive sheets inthe illustrativeembo-diment of Fig. 5 of the drawings will depend uponhow rapidly the vacuum bar I46 is moved, or how soon the next blankin aseries of blanks is fed tothe rollers I11 and I18. The sooner the nextsucceeding blank, is presented, the greater the overlap. The amount ofoverlap may be controlled by varying thespeed of the shaft or otherdrive means for the cams I66,

I61. and I68. Fig. 5 of the drawings. indicates illustratively a drivemeans I96'to be described for accomplishing this purpose.

A motor I98, preferably of, the synchronous or speedcontrolled type,which may also drive the scanner I26, by any well known powertransmission means (not shown), imparts driving power through asuitablegear and. pinion combination. 201 to the speed control mechanism I96.The,

motor I98, as .shownon. Fig. 6 of. the drawings,

may. conveniently operatethe nollers I11 and I18 through gearing I99.Where the scanner I26 is also driven from the motor I98, as. suggestedabove, theseriesof belts I33 to I36 and. thebelt or belts l 40 will alsoderive power from the motor I98. The common drive arrangement suggestedwill provide the operation for the sheet. feeding means and scanner insynchronism. However, it will be understood that separate driving motorsmay be used for the speed control mechanism I96, the feed rollers I11and I16 and-the scanner I26, synchronism being maintained by any knownmeans;

The motor I 98 is preferably of the synchronous or'speed control type sothat the scannenif itis driven from this motor, as suggested above,will.

operate in synchronization with the scanner at the transmitter. If thevariable speed motor is employed, any of the synchronizing methods whichare now well known in the art may-be employed to insure synchronousoperation of they scanner I26 with the distant scanner. If'thearrangementsabove (Figs. 5 and6) are employed asa recorder, the distantscanner will then normally be the source of synchronizing signals orimpulses.

The speed control mechanism I96'comprises; a friction cone 202 mountedon a shaft 203 driven bythe gearing- 201. A second cone 205 cooperatingwith the friction cone 202 through a friction ro1ler208 is mounted on ashaft 209. As indicateddiagrammaticallyon Fig. 5 of the drawings theshaft 209 supports and'drives the cam group comprising the cams I66 toI68. It will be understood; however, that these cams may be mounted onseparate shafts, if desired, interconnected by a suitable gearing andthat any suitable speed regulating device may be substituted for thefriction cone arrangement shown by way of example. The friction roller208 is slidably mounted on a rod 2| 2' and is moved for speed controlpurposes'by a forked arm 2I'6, the end of whichis in threaded engagementwith a screw shaft 2| 1. The .latter. isxprovidedwith a hand crank-2l 8so that 'the'axialposition of the friction 10 roller 208 may beadjusted'thereby regulating the speed of rotation of the. cams.

Operationof the. equipment shown. in Figs. 5 and Gas a messagetransmitter will now be described- However, itis to be understood thatthis equipment may be operated as a recorder in the manner pointedout'above in connection with Figs. l,.2and3"of"the drawings. Themessagesheets,

. which have been prepared for transmission by not be wasted by scanningthis. headingat the. transmitter. and an equivalent. area of theblankhaving each patron of" the message communication service inscribeazmessagethereon, or by the typing of a message by an attendant oroperator are arranged'in a pile in the box I431 as. shown with thetopofea'chsheet. adjacent theedge of theb'ox mostremote from the scannerI26.

Referring to Figs; 8Jandj9 of the drawings,.two successive. messagesheets I94 and" I95,fbearing short messages,.are.shown inthe relativeposition that they. occup with respectto each other. as they passthroughthe, scanner I26.. .Fig. 9shows two successive message sheets 224and225 bearing messages of maximum length .in their relative positionsoccupied in passing through thescanner I26.. These long,messages ingeneralwill. be press matter or. other dispatches which may. beconveniently typed or. inscribed on a. series of messagesheets. The.message sheets of Figs. 8 and 9 wilhhavea. portion of their. surfacearea devoted to printedheadings indicated bythe reference character22flj and"as.shown in Fig. 8 this heading,,willin normal operation of.the scanner, be covered. by the. next successive blank to be scanned sothat communication channel time will in. the. recorder. Message-sheetsadapted to co.- operate with a, message feed device embodying theinventiommay, ifd'esired,,be provided with a dotted. line 2291. A.printed; suggestion. that a. patron of-the. service write the messagebelow this line, if the message to be transmitted is short, for example,within the... ten word. limit. set by the cost. of the service, mayappear. on .thesheet.

in a coloredink or dye to' which the. opticalor other scanner of thetransmitteris relatively insensitive. By employing, message sheets justdescribed as forming. a part of this invention, several advantagesaccrue which have beenpointed out, and others will appear asthedescriptionof the operation of the invention proceeds.

The message sheets are. removed one at a time from the box I43 in the.manner fully. explained above, by the timed operation of the vacuum barI46.. Each message sheet after it has been introducedbetweenthe rollersI11 and [.18 is drawn.

forwardl whilev it remains fiat for a. short distance of travel. Thetrailing edge of the message sheet hangs down. on the guide I 82. where.it is clear of the vacuum. pick upbar I46. which will.

lay the leading edge of the next message sheet on top of it by. anamount depending on the desired overlap. The. desired. degree of.overlap will, as pointed out above, be obtained by adjusting the speedofrotation of the shaft 20 by turn.- ing. the hand crank, 2I81 The degree.of. overlap to be obtained will be determined as pointed out above bythe length of the message inscribed on each. sheet in the practice.usualwitnrecordcommunication. services for hire,.. numerous messageswill be of. standard? short lengthbecause of the wordnumber limitation.set-by the priceof. the servicaor the area. of. the blankto be scannedfor transmission for a given fee. Therefore, these 11' short messagesmay readily be sorted or placed as they are inscribed in a box I43,since they will be in the majority. With a'box I43 containing theseshort messages in position on the machine, the machine will be operatedwith an appropriate setting of the hand crank 2 I 8. Positioning of amessage on a message sheet so that complete scanning of the messagesubject matter will be obtained is facilitated by the mark or line 229described above. The full length messages, such as are indicated onmessage sheets 223 and 225 of Fig. 9, may also readily be sorted out andplaced in a box I43 of another machine or a box which may replace a boxalready in use, or may be piled together and placed on top of the pileof short messages with an indicating sheet of distinctive color betweenthe piles. When the indicating sheet is drawn from the pile, it will bean indication to the operator that the setting of the hand crank must bechanged. Moreover, the color and/or matter printed on the indicatingsheet may be used to apprise the operator of the speed setting of thespeed regulating device I96 to be used.

As a blank progresses between the rollers Ill and I18 it is supported inthe middle by the belts I83 and I84. As soon as the trailing edge of theblank leaves the-rollers I11 and I18 the outer edges will fall, thusbending the blank approximately to the shape of a half cylinder asindicated at reference character 23I in Fig. '7 of the drawings. Whenthis occurs, the leading edge of the sheet, for example the sheet I95shown in Fig. of the drawings, will engage the guide IQI. The guide I93which is substantially a continuation of the top I32 is mounted beneaththe previously mentioned guide I9I. The sheet I95 will then be pressedto the curved surface of the scanner I32 and pushed under theroller-belt combination I33, I36 and I38. Belts I83 and I84 areapproximately the same size as belts I33, I35 and I36, and the planebetween the touching runs of the belts I83 and, I 84 shouldapproximately coincide with the plane between the touching surface ofthe centrally located belt I35 and the top of the scanner I39.

Once a sheet, for example a sheet I95, is engaged by belts I33 to I33 itmoves over the scanning slot I3I in the manner described above inconnection with Fig. 1 of the drawings.

After the sheets have passed over the scanning slot I3I they maybedeposited one at a time in any suitable box or receptacle such as thereceptacle I22 shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, or if the machine ofFigs. 5, 6 and '7 is being operated as a recorder the recorded sheetsmay be deposited in or on any suitable conveyor system for distributionto a delivery point or points.

Two similar machines embodying features disclosed by Figs. 5, 6 and '7of the drawings may operate together as a transmitter and recorder overa suitable radio or other communication channel. Where this is done thesubject matter sheets at the transmitter may differ in size from themessage blanks used at the machine operating as a recorder. The sheetfeeding speed controls on the transmitter and/or recorder may be used tocompensate for this difference in size. The sheets used for eitherpurpose, therefore, may be of any given height as measured from top tobottom and any desired portion of this height may be devoted to aprinted heading or a characteristic marking used to designate thecharacter of the sheet and its intended use. An auxiliary signal may besent from the transmitter to the recorder in any suitable manner toindicate to the operator at the recorder the degree of overlap which isto be obtained by varying the speed of operation of the sheet feeder.

Inasmuch as successive sheets fed to the scanner are placed on thescanner in a definite angularposition with respect to a selectableangular position of the scanning head I28, no special problem will bepresented in deriving and/or transmitting framing or phasing signals andno marks for thispurpose need appear either on the message sheet or themessage blank. Where the motor driving the scanning head at thetransmitter is maintained in synchronism and phase relationship with themotor driving the scanner at the recorder no frequently repeated phasingsignal will be required.

Referring to the previously mentioned modifications shown on Figs. 10and 11 of the drawings, a support 231 is shown which corresponds to thesupport 58 in Fig. 1 of the drawings. A plurality of bearing brackets232 is secured to the support 23! to provide bearing supports for thepulley shafts 233 of pulleys 2316. These pulleys may be made of solidrubber and are preferably cylindrical. The individual shafts 233 areinterconnected by universal joints located between the pulleys and adriving connection shown as a shaft 23'! projects from the end-mostpulley 236 and may be driven in the same manner, for example, as theshaft ll shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The pulleys 239 support anddrive a plurality of belts 239 which substantially cover the top 25! ofthe scanner housing.

The natureof the invention will be determined from the foregoing and thescope thereof is defined in the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tohave protected by Letters Patent is: i

1. Facsimile apparatus comprising a sheet support element, means to movesheets along said element, a scanning element cooperatively positionedrelative to the support to scan a sheet supported thereon, and means forfeeding a series of independent sheets in sequence and in overlappedrelationship upon the support element to be moved by said first namedmeans for scanning. v

2. Facsimile apparatus comprising a record support element, a scanningelement cooperatively positioned relative to the support to scan arecord sheet supported thereon, means for feeding a series ofindependent record sheets in sequence and in overlapped relationshipupon the support element for scanning, and means to vary the degree ofoverlap of said sheets.

3. In a facsimile system, a transmitter having scanning means fordeveloping signals in accordance with subject matter to be transmitted,a recorder having a scanner capable of marking a recording medium inaccordance with signals received from said transmitting scanner, meanscorrelated with said transmitting scanner for feeding entirely separatepieces of subject matter thereto in overlapped relationship, saidtransmitting scanner having means to maintain the overlappedrelationship of said separate pieces of subject matter and means forfeeding a recording medium to said recording scanner.

4. In a facsimile machine, a scanner, means for providing operatingpower for said scanner, means to feed separate sheets successively tosaid scanner, and means for causing said sheet feeding means to feedeach sheet of a series of successive sheets in a manner to cause a sheetfed successively to overlap a sheet previously fed to said scanner, theoverlapped portion being maintained out of cooperative relationship withsaid scanner.

5. In a facsimile machine, a scanning device, mechanism for placingentirely separate sheets into scanning relationship with said scanningdevice comprising, means to retain said sheets in readiness to bescanned, means to remove said sheets one at a time in succession fromsaid sheet retaining means, means to brin a sheet removed from saidsheet retaining means into scanning relationship with said scanningdevice, and means to provide for overlapping successive sheets as theycome into scanning relationship with said scanning device.

6. A facsimile machine comprising a scanner having stationary supportingmeans for a sheet, means to traverse a sheet alon closely spacedscanning lines of an image area to be scanned, means to impart movementto a sheet in said scanner to produce spacing of said scanning linestraced on the image area, sheet feeding means for introducing sheetssuccessively, one at a time, to said movement imparting means, and meansfor correlating the speed of operation of said sheet traversing meansand said movement imparting means.

7. A facsimile machine comprising a scanner having means to traverse asheet along closely spaced scanning lines, means to impart movement to asheet in said scanner to produce spacing of said scanning lines, sheetfeedin means for introducing sheets successively, one at a time, to saidmovement imparting means, means for correlating the speed of operationof said sheet traversing means and said movement imparting means, andmeans for drivin said sheet feeding means at any one of a plurality ofdifferent sheet introducing speeds with respect to the speed of saidmovement imparting means.

8. A facsimile machine comprising a scanner having a portion presentinga curved stationary surface over which a sheet is to move during ascanning operation, sheet propelling means comprising a moving webpositioned so that a sheet to be scanned is received between said weband said stationary curved surface, means for feeding sheets, one at atime, successively to said web comprising a pair of moving webspositioned to receive a sheet between them, and guide means for curvinga sheet carried by said pair of moving webs to conform to the curvatureof said stationary surface.

9. In a facsimile system, a transmitter having a scanner, means forfeeding sh'eets one at a time in succession and in overlappedrelationship to said scanner, a recorder having a scanner, means forfeeding sheets one at a time in succession and in overlappedrelationship to said recording scanner, means at said transmitter forcausing operation of said associated sheet feeding means at apredetermined speed, and means at said recording scanner for causingoperation of its associated sheet feeding means at a speed of operationdifferent from that of the sheet feeding means associated with saidtransmitter scanner, whereby sheets fed to said recording scanner toreceive a facsimile record of matter appearing on the sheets scanned atthe transmitter may differ in size and degree of overlap from the sheetsfed to said transmitting scanner.

l0. Facsimile apparatus comprising means to support a plurality ofmessage sheets, a scanning element cooperatively positioned relative tosaid supporting means to scan one of said message sheets supportedthereon, each message sheet comprising a portion having a fixed indiciaappearing thereon, the remaining portion of said sheet being availablefor cooperation with said scanning element, a mark in a predeterminedposition on said subject matter receiving portion to one side of which ashort piece of subject matter is to be inscribed, and means for feedinga series of said discrete and individual message sheets in sequence andin overlapped relationship to said supporting means for a scanningoperation upon said available portion of each.

CHARLES N. GIILESPIE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,352,308 Murray Sept. '7, 19201,564,932 Brown Dec. 8, 1925 2,183,559 Green Dec. 19, 1939 2,202,359Fauschek May 28, 1940 2,234,263 Lake et a1 Mar. 11, 1941 2,255,868 Wiseet a1. Sept, 16, 1941 2,314,027 Young Mar. 16, 1943 2,333,272 Ridings etal Nov. 2, 1943 2,274,737 Potts Mar. 3, 1942

